20 Tips for Grooming Your Senior Dog

Have you ever thought about what it must be like for your senior dog when it comes time to groom her? After all, grooming can be a rather frightening experience for some dogs under certain circumstances, regardless of age. However, when the dog is older, grooming can become much more difficult for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, the way the hair grows on your dog actually changes a little bit as she ages. You have undoubtedly seen older dogs that just seem to be having a bad hair day all the time. This is because the hair becomes less manageable. If you feel it, it actually feels stiffer and at times, it can become more difficult to maintain. This makes it more prone to becoming tangled or matted, which are obviously two things that you don’t want to allow to happen to your pet. In addition, your dog may not feel as good as she used to. She may have certain areas of her body that are especially tender and she may not want you to touch those areas. Even if she feels well physically, dogs are like people when it comes to the aging of the mind. Many times, they simply don’t want to interact as much as they used to and prefer to have more time alone instead. This can obviously make grooming more challenging, especially if you are doing it yourself. Your dog may not be as receptive to the whole idea of grooming as she once was. On the other hand, if you take her to a professional groomer, you may be looking at an entirely different set of circumstances surrounding her age and whether or not she feels good enough to get in the car and go to some strange location every week or two for grooming.

A lot of it really comes down to knowing your dog and knowing her well. You alone often know what is best for her, not to mention what she will and will not tolerate. If you find that she isn’t as receptive to things as she used to be, the first order of business really should be a trip to your veterinarian in order to determine whether or not a medical cause is involved. With that being said, there are some things that you can do to make grooming time easier on both you and your dog, even if it has become somewhat difficult.

Below are 20 tips that you can follow to make grooming easier for your senior dog. While it isn’t likely that all of these tips will apply at the same time, you can definitely read through the list and see which ones apply to your dog and her specific situation. That way, you can make grooming the enjoyable experience that it once was. On that note, understand ahead of time that you are far more likely to be able to groom your dog whenever you need to if she has always enjoyed it in the past. Some dogs love it and others really don’t care for it at all, no matter what their age. If you happen to have a dog that has never really enjoyed being groomed, it’s important to work with them while they are younger because it will only become more difficult as they get older. In other words, you are already ahead of the curve if you have a dog that has always enjoyed grooming in the past. That way, you will likely need to make only small changes along the way in order to ensure that you can still groom her without her becoming stressed. Keep reading to find out more.

About The Author

Nat Berman

Nat is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Uncoached Corporation and all its properties. He loves television, movies, fitness, playing piano, and writing articles worth reading.
Follow him on Twitter @nathanielberman

PuppyToob.com is your daily resource for the latest dog rescue news, adoption stories, and tips for raising a healthy dog. It's also the most in depth resource for dog breed information. We have detailed profiles on the Bulldog, Cane Corso, French Bulldog, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Pit Bull, Rottweiller, Tibetan Mastiff, Yorkie Poo, and other popular dog breeds.